Two fragmentary Greek inscriptions, just possibly referring to a martyr whose name is lost. Found at Antioch on the Orontes (north Syria). Probably late antique.
Evidence ID
E01820
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
Fragment 1:
[- - - τὸ]ν μέγαν μ[άρτυρα (?) - - -]
................................................
τὸ]ν μέγαν μ[άρτυρα (?) Downey
'[- - - the] great [martyr (?) - - -]'
Text: IGLS 3/1, no. 805.
Fragment 2:
[- - -] κ(αὶ) μ̣ά[ρτυς (?)- - -]
[- - -]ντ̣ε[- - -]
κ(αὶ) μ̣ά[ρτυς (?) Downey
'[- - -] and [martyr (?) - - -]'
Text: IGLS 3/1. no. 806.
Cult PlacesPrayer/supplication/invocation
Cult building - unspecified
Non Liturgical ActivityPrayer/supplication/invocation
Composing and translating saint-related texts
Source
Fragment 1: Grey marble fragment, broken and lost on all sides. H. 0.103 m; W. 0.15 m; Th. 0.033 m. Letter height 0.052-0.068 m. There are probably traces of letters below the preserved line.Fragment 2: Grey marble fragment of a cornice. Reused in another structure. H. 0.221 m; W. 0.130 m; max. Th. 0.09 m. Letter height 0.06 m.
Both fragments were found in sector 15-M (near the so-called House of Aion) during the surveys of the Committee for the Excavation of Antioch and its Vicinity (1937-1939). First published by Glanville Downey in 1941 in the reports of the Committee, after an examination of the stone. Republished by René Mouterde and Louis Jalabert in 1950, based on Downey's edition.
Discussion
The reconstruction was suggested by Downey, the first editor of the text. Mouterde was sceptical about this completion. Actually, as just very small portions of the inscriptions are preserved, we cannot say whether they really referred to a martyr. Furthermore, the epithet μέγας/'great' was rarely given to martyrs in inscriptions.It is not certain, whether both fragments come from the same text (or at least from the same building), but given the fact that they were found in proximity to each other, we reproduce them together.
Dating: there is no way to reliably date these inscriptions. The editors note that the forms of the letters resemble those of the 'Byzantine' period. The term 'Byzantine', as used in the early 20th c., was, however, very imprecise and could refer to both Late Antiquity and middle Byzantine times.
Bibliography
Edition:Jalabert, L., Mouterde, R., Les inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie, vol. 3/1: Région de l’Amanus, Antioche (BAH 46, Paris: P. Geuthner, 1950), nos. 805-806.
Downey, G., “Greek and Latin inscriptions”, in: R. Stillwell and others (eds.), Antioch-on-the-Orontes, vol. 3: The excavations 1937-1939 (Princeton: Princeton Univeristy Press, 1941), 91, nos. 133 and 139 (photographs??).
Further reading:
R. Stillwell and others (eds.), Antioch-on-the-Orontes, vol. 3: The excavations 1937-1939 (Princeton: Princeton Univeristy Press, 1941), 11-12 (for a description of the find-spot).
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
25/08/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00060 | Martyrs, unnamed or name lost | Uncertain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E01820 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01820